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Author Topic: Stardrive 2  (Read 9764 times)

Martok

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on: January 18, 2021, 08:34:13 PM
So this is not a game I've talked about in a good while.  (Indeed, I'm pretty sure the last time it was the subject of any real discussion was over at the other place a few years ago.) 


Stardrive 2 (and its sole expansion Sector Zero) was one of those 4x games that I very much enjoyed and played the hell out of, but (frustratingly) it never *quite* crossed the line over into being a true classic.  It came tantalizingly close, but ultimately failed (in large part) due to some major bugs that were never fixed by the game's sole developer, Daniel DiCicco.  (It's perhaps worth noting that DiCicco has gained a certain notoriety -- both for abandoning his games, and for adopting a...less-than-cordial attitude towards the people who play them.) 

It was a true shame, because while not revolutionary, SD2 was one of those games that was greater than the sum of its parts.  It was one of the rare 4x titles that seemed to "click" on nearly every level -- exploration, colony management, logistics, combat, diplomacy, ship design, etc.  It managed to hit that "sweet spot" of being neither too simple nor complex; and streamlined, yet without being shallow. 




So I think it's safe to say DiCicco caught everyone off-guard by releasing a patch just yesterday, in which apparently most of the bugs have finally been squashed.  :o  I'm naturally a tad skeptical about that, but I guess we'll see... 


« Last Edit: January 18, 2021, 09:06:49 PM by Martok »

"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

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bbmike

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Reply #1 on: January 18, 2021, 08:42:35 PM
Huh. That is interesting. I'm with you on the skeptical part.

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Martok

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Reply #2 on: January 18, 2021, 09:17:21 PM
Yeah.  Between his abandonment of first Stardrive 1, and then Stardrive 2, that man burned a lot of bridges, not to mention a ton of goodwill. 

Of course, folks in the announcement thread are now treating him like he's the Second Coming of Christ.  It's like they've completely forgotten his behavior from the previous 5+ years.  :doh: 


Don't get me wrong:  I'm thrilled he released this patch, especially if it actually does fix the late-game bugs like he claims.  But to see everyone showering him with praise -- for doing something he should have already done years ago -- is just an absolute facepalm moment for me. 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Anguille

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Reply #3 on: January 19, 2021, 03:14:17 AM
No praise from my part but just happy that he did take some time to patch it. I guess it was crazy in the first place to work on a game like this alone and, while he does have a problem with attitude, i understand that he needed to find a real job and that he had to take care of his children. Now, if he manages to release a patch every year, it would awesome.



Martok

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Reply #4 on: January 19, 2021, 05:05:03 AM
Now, if he manages to release a patch every year, it would awesome.

Agreed. 

However, I get the impression he's more likely to spend his spare time working on Stardrive 3.  Would love to be wrong, though.  :) 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Anguille

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Reply #5 on: January 19, 2021, 05:50:05 AM
Now, if he manages to release a patch every year, it would awesome.

Agreed. 

However, I get the impression he's more likely to spend his spare time working on Stardrive 3.  Would love to be wrong, though.  :)

I don't think he will work on Stardrive 3 game. I believe he's burned with games even though he loves it. If he really wanted to work on something again, he should make sure to get a full team to do it.



BanzaiCat

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Reply #6 on: January 19, 2021, 11:49:44 AM
When I saw 'Stardrive,' I immediately thought of Starflight from back in 1986 or so.  :D

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bbmike

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Reply #7 on: January 19, 2021, 12:12:34 PM
BC, not sure if you've heard of this before but here's a link to Starflight - The Lost Colony. I haven't played it but it looks promising.

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
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BanzaiCat

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Reply #8 on: January 19, 2021, 02:27:31 PM
Thanks!  :bigthumb:

Funny but I didn't really play it on the computer - I had a Sega Genesis cartridge and I spent quite a few hours on that, way back when.

Nice freebie...I might give it a try depending on how good/intuitive the GUI is.

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BanzaiCat

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Reply #9 on: January 19, 2021, 04:26:03 PM
I downloaded it just to check to see if it works, and it does not. It throws an error about a missing DLL file.

A Google search finds this version 2 of the game that came out in 2019, which does run. I can get through the first few tutorial steps, but when you get to assigning crew, you can't see their stats at left. Something about the display does not render right, which makes me think there will be other errors.

It is technically an Alpha build so maybe they're still working on it, but there haven't been a lot of posts to the current forum (http://forum.starflt.com/viewforum.php?f=4) since mid-2020.

I did send the dev an email (saw it in the forum), so who knows if there will be a fix. Attached an image to show the skill rendering error.

In any case, sorry to derail the thread. :)

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Martok

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Reply #10 on: January 22, 2021, 12:00:17 AM
Well I'm not sure what's inspired Dan to suddenly dive back into the game again, but something clearly has.  Contrary to my expectations, he didn't just put out the one patch and call it good, but is continuing to find and squash bugs as players report them. 


He's even started talking about future plans for Stardrive 2, including an updated/"remastered" edition with new content.  I'm taking those words with a huge grain of salt, given his history, but I admit to allowing myself the tiniest kernel of hope. 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Anguille

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Reply #11 on: January 22, 2021, 02:17:17 AM
I think he was burned and needed to take some distance. He's got a passion for computer games but i hope he takes it easy so we will see further improvements. I also guess that he's got a job that allows him to earn money so he can work on Stardrive 2 on a hobby level (without the worry to earn money).



BanzaiCat

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Reply #12 on: January 22, 2021, 09:14:13 AM
I was surprised to get a response back. This might help you guys if you're looking to run the game:

Quote
I've added a few links to earlier releases.  Could you try the release
1.02 and see if you still experience the same problem? Plot and feature
wise, the game is nearly identical in every single way, as you can see
in the lower part of the thread
http://forum.starflt.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=908

I performed a ton of work to try to polish the plot of the game and fix
bugs between the early betas and 1.02.  The game was running under an
ancient OpenGL engine and libraries, but 1.02 was the apex of my testing
and tweaking.

1.03 was primarily a few engine upgrades and 2.0 was a major upgrade to
move the software to a DirectX engine, which introduced a ton of new
bugs.  Almost a decade later, I've forgotten so much of the code and was
not involved in other sections, that I don't know how to easily fix, and
I'm personally very busy with a number of other responsibilities right
now unfortunately.

- sw

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Martok

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Reply #13 on: January 24, 2021, 05:46:49 AM
Another patch has been dropped: 


https://steamcommunity.com/games/252450/announcements/detail/3062978883697591695


Spoiler: ShowHide
Quote
Jan 24 Update
Update update update!


This was a fun update. I really fiddled in the guts on this one and things should be running a lot faster in a number of different areas. Plus, I fixed some things that I think have been broken for a long while. For example, check out how ships fire their cannons now. They come out of the wings and such now--much more visually pleasing.

     -  Overhauled system for loading assets. Game loads much faster now.
    -  Optimized the strategy map’s idle computations to reduce late game lag
    -  Optimized the end of turn processing to reduce hiccups when the turn button is pressed
    -  Subspace projectors now have graphics on the strategy map
    -  Substantially increased projectile speeds for lasers and disruptors to make them more exciting. I will probably update other cannons in the coming days as I work through them.
    -  Overhauled visual fx for ships taking damage and leaking fire and plasma into space
    -  Need to go through all ships
    -  Overhaul ship shooting fx so ships create projectiles from sensible locations on their hulls
    -  The AI will no longer use the expansion pack ship hulls, to keep something special for the player
    -  Fixed Russian localization problems
    -  Fixed UI scaling issue affecting widescreen setups
    -  Fixed an issue where event popups could sometimes appear to have no choices due to a scrolling error
    -  Fixed a problem with the Avnar Minor Race event, where not all discussion options resulted in the proper outcome





Lots of fixes for visual/FX issues, but also some fairly decent performance improvements.  The game loads noticeably faster now, and turns run a bit smoother. 


Caveat:  I'm now running into an odd visual bug, where newly constructed-vessels no longer show up as icons when zoomed out on the galaxy map.  Similarly, their remaining fuel percentage and ETA (if they're heading somewhere) are now missing as well.  Fortunately, it's not a major problem, it's just annoying. 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

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Reply #14 on: January 24, 2021, 04:22:00 PM
Hotfix has been released.  The ship icon/info bug has been squashed, along with a couple more that sprung up (reported by others).  Dan also officially updated the game to v2.5. 


I still don't know what to make of all this, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike